The Selfless Selfishness
by IncestStick
Summary: This is a story of an obsession that elevated one life at the cost of countless others, and about slowly succumbing to deranged love.
1. Chapter 1

Laying on my bed in a sleazy, empty apartment, wearing nothing but worn boxers, I probably looked like a total loser, and a one on the verge of dying at that; my body was covered in fat, with stretch marks from getting too obese too fast. It was ravaged by ridiculous doses of energy drinks and junk food. Lack of physical activity left it grotesquely unshapely, and shortage of sleep put dark circles around my eyes. And yet, I felt like the Master of the world, for my conscience was not bound to this miserable, exhausted, mortal body; rather, it roamed the last floor of the Dragon's Lair alongside my generic, yet trusty team, at the speed not even the heaviest spenders could possibly attain. Galleon was using Time to Loot every time it went off cooldown, miraculously landing all defence-breaks as well, as if he knew it was his last run and was trying to make up for all the derping he has ever committed. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and I was glad to be going out this way. The last months of Summoners War were sad and slow. The occasional patches contained only bland bikini transmogrifications. Without any new content being introduced by the devs, not even to mention the Dimensional Hole still displaying the same 'Preparing Update...' notification we first saw years ago, players became weary and bored, so they started to leave the game. The top spots in PvP rankings, previously so contended for, were now almost empty, as the game's closure neared quickly. On the very last day, no one but complete addicts or people with strong, blissful memories of the game were there to witness the countdown before the server shut-down. With 21 seconds left on the clock, I finished my last DB10 run and returned to my Sky Island to take a goodbye look at my units. Over the years, I have managed to summon 13 natural 5* monsters. Heck, I even had Cadiz to show for the thousands of dollars I tossed into the greedy void-of-a-throat of Com2us. I swept above the Command Post, where my beautiful ladies, the jewels of my account were stationed: Juno, Praha, Ethna, Beth, Hathor, Vanessa, and Alicia. Lying on the back, I watched the mesmerising, shiny pixels spinning and presenting their weapons at my slightest touch. I petted my screen, hoping my girls would feel what I felt at the moment, and that having shared my fear would lessen the burden. I threw a glance at the countdown, gravely frightened of the reality I'll be forced into when it reaches zero. I had no one left, and since I've spent almost all my inheritance money on Reapp Packs, crystal refills and transmogrifications, there was no choice for me but to start looking for a job. Having no practical skill, with a broken body and a mind blunted by countless hours of idle farming, deep down I knew I will not succeed. When the very last dollar vanishes, I'll spend the rest of my life leeching off of the unemployment benefit. Despite being immensely delusional my entire life, I knew all too well that I won't be able to keep the suicidal thoughts away, not without the power whaling granted me. Years ago, as my life began to crumble, I turned to Summoners War in a last, desperate attempt to finally be good at something, and started dumping money, tricking myself into the conviction that spending the most is in some way equivalent to being the most skilled. Struggling to become the best in this game, seeing my name in the rankings was the sole purpose of my existence. Not that I was ever a Guardian-class contender, but being at least able to stand my ground against the best in Conqueror was good enough for me. However silly and childish, it made me truly happy... I lived to play, and I played to live.  
I broke out of the memories and checked on the countdown. With 14 seconds left on the clock, I closed it, and with eyes wide open, absorbed the gorgeous sight of my virtual toys, dancing to the rhythm of my taps. My chubby arms were tired of being half-stretched for so long, but I refused to change my position. The 14 seconds felt like if they were stretching into minutes, and I thanked all the gods I never believed in for such a miracle. The human nature, however, quickly adapts even to the greatest bliss. Despite thinking it impossible to become bored of the breathtaking charm of the one thing Com2us ever did truly right – the animation – I suddenly felt the wave of drowsiness. I felt something hot hit my face, and I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up, I had a sinking feeling of something being off. I do sleep with a pillow, but my head was unnaturally high, and the rest of my body felt as if it rested for hours on a warm stone floor, instead of a mattress. The sun shined ridiculously brightly right in my face, and I scorned myself for not pulling the shades down last night. Not able to open my eyes without being completely dazzled, I decided to just roll off the bed and go take a shower. I steeled myself, and just as I was shifting my weight, two soft objects covered my eyes, and I heard the most delightful voice in the Universe say: 'I will shield you, Master~'. Scared shitless, I sprung up. Before I was able to turn around and see what the hell was that, I saw a mountain of bulging muscle donned in thick, gold armour towering right in front of me. The creature's wings, although folded neatly behind it's back, made it appear even bigger. It radiated the aura of otherworldly power, shattering all mortal hope. My only reflex was to fall flat on the ground and patiently await the devastating stomp to crush my skull and bones alike, purging my sins swiftly in the act of heavenly mercy. And yet, being a clumsy oaf, I didn't even manage to start bending my knee when the seraph attacked. Watching him lower his massive body towards me, I was equally awestruck and frightened. _I should have visited a church and confessed my wrongdoings_ , I thought with remorse. Despite being fully aware of the foolishness of trying to avoid the blow of the God's very executioner, I still attempted to take a step back and fell on my butt right onto the warm softness I previously believed to be a pillow. Two arms entwined my torso from behind – their gentle, but unyielding grasp prevented me completely from further struggles to escape my demise. Unable to move, I could only watch the angel finish his descending motion, leaving him… Genuflecting before me, with his eyes submissively pointed down? Totally astounded, I finally recognised him to be Eladriel. Having seen him countless times on my tiny smartphone screen, I never imagined he would be so intimidating and majestic in real life – they must have shrunk him before implementing into the game. I guess it made sense though, as he had to fit into a single monster slot. Even bowing down, low on his knees, he was still tall enough to easily reach my upper chest if I was standing up. My heart was beating furiously, and I heard the archangel say in deep, ethereal voice: "Master, your lowly servants beg you to extend your glorious reign over us. We pledge our absolute loyalty to you and vow to cater to your every wish. We will gladly throw our lives at your feet if you so desire. So we swear!". Two other voices from behind his back joyfully repeated: "So we swear!". I tried to tilt my head and see who they came from, but the woman embracing me wouldn't let go. Instead, I felt her hot breath on my ear, and I heard her whisper "And to spoil you rotten, Master. So we swear indeed~". The moist affectionateness of this murmur made my frail, ruined by Burn and KFC heart give out at last, and I lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Coming to my senses, I realised that my situation hasn't changed one bit. I still lied on a stone floor, with my head resting on someone's soft, warm lap. I was afraid to see who was holding me captive, so I pretended to be fast asleep. I didn't notice it before, probably due to all the emotions stirring inside of me, but whoever was she, she smelled wonderful. The celestial fragrance was making my head spin, and my mind was going blank. I couldn't bear the raging curiosity anymore, and I opened my eyes. It was late in the night and I couldn't see very clearly, so I didn't recognise the women. The stars shone bright enough for me see that she was drilling holes in my face with her gaze, full of happiness and devotion. I couldn't help but smile back. "Welcome, Master. I longed for this moment ever since the time you brought me to life with your gracious touch. I apologise profoundly for making you uneasy, but I couldn't contain my exhilaration. Please don't hate me for being so glutinous of you...". I had no experience with women whatsoever, let alone clingy ones, so I was dumbfounded for words. Not able to withstand her stare that seemed to pervade the very essence of my being, I turned to heavens for help. No, literally. I averted my sight to the starry night sky above us, only to get confused even more. I was looking at a vivid firmament, flooding with stars, galaxies, nebulas and whatnot. It was a view restricted to worlds not yet defiled by artificial light, a view the humanity has long ago obliterated in pursuit of progress. The first explanation that came to my mind was that we were in a new world altogether, and a one where electricity hasn't been invented yet at that, but even the thought was absolutely absurd, so I forced it out of my imagination. It seemed we were simply in some kind of complete piss-hole. Either way, the long delay between the women's speech and my still amiss response was making me insecure, so I decided to say whatever just to buy myself some more time. "Isn't the sky truly gorgeous, haha?" I uttered nervously. Without even taking a glance at it, she instantly answered with "Compared to your eyes, Master, it doesn't even deserve the label of revulsing filth", and she seemed to genuinely mean it. _What the fuck is wrong with her_ , I asked myself completely baffled, but before I had to respond, a shiny knight came to my rescue. Granted, he was neither shining nor knightly, but I recognised his yellowish jester suit instantly and jumped up. Overjoyed to see a familiar face, I ran towards him and bear hugged him as he was trying to kneel. "Lushen! I'm so glad to see you!", I yelled. He was somewhat reluctant to return the hug, still trying to bow down, but he budged in after a while and embraced me as well. "I… I am overwhelmed by your benevolent words, Master. We are truly blessed to be joined with you at last. Please rely on our strength, meagre as it may be, to obtain what you deem worthy". I wanted to tell him that his friendship would be worthy enough, and beg him to stay by my side and protect me, but then it hit me. Which Lushen was he exactly? I had three of them six-starred, two speedy ones for Arena Offence, and one fat but hella slow. How am I supposed to tell one from another? I would die of embarrassment if I had to hand them some kind of armbands. "He is the swift/nemesis one, Master.", the voice from behind me informed. I turned around and saw… Juno, kneeling where I left her, with the same obsessive smile I woke up to a while ago. "It's the one with the best stats, after all", she said rising from the ground, and she was right. After the Vanessa buff, I decided to rune one of my Lushens swift/nemesis to troll people on AD; it was quite successful the first couple of days before everyone got up to speed on the mechanic. But that swift/nemesis set turned out to be very stat heavy, and since it was still hitting for 10k per card while being over 200 speed, I left it be. I even used it in GWO sometimes against Seara+Orion+Perna. It wasn't very consistent due to Orion's bullshit, but if they focused my Lushen, he would usually wipe the table almost clean, and then Vanessa coupled with another fire nuker had no problems murdering Perna. Juno's movement brought my attention back, as no human would be able to walk straight after sitting in seiza position for a day, especially if they had someone sleep on their lap as well, and yet her long legs stepped firmly and with grace as she approached me. Instead of the 'Beach Girl' getup I had her wear in the game, she had dark, loose-fitting sweats, black sneakers and a black hoodie. Her long, blonde hair was braided to the side and tied with a red ribbon. If it wasn't for her enticing, scarlet eyes, I would have mistaken her for a Hell Lady. "I knew you would despise others ogling me in a skimpy outfit, Master, so I had this one made. I hope it is to your liking~", she said, and damn it was to my liking indeed. It didn't reveal much, but from what I could see, her body was absolutely bewitching; despite that, I looked into her eyes, setting ablaze as they reflected the rising Sun. The worship I saw in them pleased me, but it also pierced my heart with guilt. I did nothing to deserve her affection, nor did I even want it. I have chosen solitude long ago, and it was the only thing in my life I was truly adamant on. I would not have mere lust break my will. I forced myself to send her a cold stare and turned back to Lushen. "The preparations are complete, Master. We are ready to embark whenever you please", he bowed deeply. "Embark where?", I asked, stupefied to a degree. "Wait, where are we now in the first place?". "This is your Sky Island, Master", said Juno. "I knew you would be delighted to take a look around from our perspective. Please feel free to do a little sightseeing. Oh, and there is a surprise waiting for you in the storage~". I looked at her suspiciously, but she seemed far too innocent to try and lead me into a trap. In all honesty, if she really wanted to harm me, she could have just killed me in my sleep, so I had no reason to doubt her. In the meantime, the Sun made quite a lot of progress on its routine way through the sky, flooding the surroundings with light. I wanted to be alone for a while to gather my thoughts, so I said "Very well then, I'll take my time", and I walked slowly towards the nearest building. If this was a dream, it was the best I've had in years, and I intended to make the most of it before facing the dreadful, grim reality of tomorrow.


End file.
